1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to machine tools, and is directed more particularly at a device which makes it possible to remove and evacuate the chips formed and ejected during machining of a part.
2. Discussion of the Background
In classical equipment, the chips formed during machining of a part are flushed from the zone of the cutting tool by liquid jets emerging from directional nozzles disposed nearby and oriented toward the tool and the tool holder. The chips drawn along by the liquid are then collected together therewith in an evacuation housing disposed in the lower part of the machine tool.
Nevertheless, such devices suffer from the drawback of allowing the chips to accumulate in the form of agglomerate in the multiple ejection zones not sprayed by the liquid jets. These agglomerates are particularly heavy during high-speed machining of materials such as aluminum-base materials, for which the chips, which are of small size, are ejected into the entire space surrounding the tool and the part to be machined. Agglomerates of chips hardened and stuck to the surrounding walls then break off randomly and interfere with machining of the part in progress, making it necessary to stop and clean the machine tool.
One known technique for overcoming this drawback is to increase the number of liquid-atomizing nozzles and to orient the nozzles toward the points of heaviest accumulation of chips.
This solution involves a greater number of liquid-supply tubes and an increase in space requirement and weight of the device, with all the associated drawbacks when the said device must be fixed on removable hoods for maintenance operations. Furthermore, the greater number of liquid-atomizing nozzles leads to an increase of liquid consumption and achieves merely a shift in the chip-accumulation zones, which still become grouped behind the nozzles.